Despite how quiet things seemed around the deadline, there were plenty of trades this season. Most teams were looking for "rentals", players that will be UFAs after this season, so that they won't have to pay for their contract next year when the salary cap is reduced around 10%. Here's an overview of the major trades and team moves.
The first big trade to make waves in the NHL was the trade made by the Dallas Stars and Pittsburgh Penguins, in which the Stars traded away their captain of 7 years, Brenden Morrow, and a 3rd round pick in the 2013 draft to the Penguins for the younger Joe Morrow and a 5th round pick in the 2013 draft. With B. Morrow not producing as much as the Stars would have been liking, the Penguins seized this opportunity to provide the slacking Stars with a young, talented defenseman. The Stars would have benefited better if they hadn't given way a 3rd round pick, but for a team that needs young talent for the future, this was a good trade. The Penguins added a solid winger to their team to help them push through the playoffs.
The next "big" trade made included the Penguins acquiring another team's captain. To be specific, Jerome Iginla, captain of the Calgary Flames. It came as a shock, as everyone in the hockey-world were positive Iginla was headed to the Bruins. But the Pens snagged him, giving the Flames prospects Kenneth Agostino and Ben Hanowski, along with a 1st round pick in the 2013 draft. Again, good for both teams, though the benefits will come to the Flames in the future, not this season as they will for the Pens.
One lesser trade made by the Penguins was for Douglas Murray of the San Jose Sharks. The Pens gave up two conditional 2nd round draft picks (2013 and 2014). One thing that should be observed is that while the Penguins are obviously building up their team to make a push for the Stanley Cup this season, they are taking away many chances to have a good team in the future by trading away many good draft picks and prospects. They are also taking risks economically, seeing that they may want to re-sign players like Iginla, but will not have the money to do so with the salary cap reducing next season.
The Flames also lost another big name besides Iginla by trading defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to the St. Louis Blues. The Flames received prospects Reta Berra and Mark Cundari along with a 1st round pick in the 2013 draft. Yet another sign of the Flames making investments in the future. This helps the Blues out, who can benefit from more depth on the blue line.
And then you have the Buffalo Sabres, who, like the Flames, are rebuilding (in more ways than one, firing their coach back in February). The Sabres started their "yard sale" by first trading Jordon Leopold to the Blues. In return they accepted a 2nd round pick for the 2013 draft, and a conditional 5th round pick.
Next, they traded veteran Robyn Regehr to the LA Kings for two 2nd round picks in '14 and '15.
And then they joined the ranks of suffering teams trading away their captain. Jason Pominville was traded to the Minnesota Wild accompanied by a 4th round pick in the 2014 draft. The Sabres got prospects Matt Hackett (G) and Johan Larsson, along with a 1st round pick in the 2013 draft and a 2nd round pick in the 2014 draft.
Looks like the Sabres are getting set for the future, and the Wild are adding more big names to their team.
The Boston Bruins added a big name, trading for Jaromir Jagr from the Stars. The Stars acquired Lane MacDermid (who already has a goal for them, go him), prospect Cody Payne, and a conditional 2nd round pick.
Bruins also traded a 7th round pick in the 2014 draft to the Blues for defenseman Wade Redden.
Bruins are stacking up for a playoff run, competing with their rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, for first in the Northeast division.
A big trade was made by the San Jose Sharks when Ryane Clowe waived his no-trade clause to be sent to the New York Rangers. The Sharks gained a 2nd and third round pick for 2013 and a conditional 2nd rounder for 2014. The Rangers gained a solid forward who will help them fight back from a so-so season.
The Rangers knew what they were doing when they traded for Clowe, because they then turned around and sent high-scoring forward Marian Gaborik to the Columbus Blue Jackets in return for Derek Dorsett (currently on IR, will not be playing for the remainder of this season), Derick Brassard, and John Moore (the latter two already tallying one goal each for the Rangers). The Rangers also acquired a 6th round pick for the '13 draft.
This was a very good for both sides, with the Rangers gaining depth and the Jackets gaining a big-name player that they have been lacking since Rick Nash left.
The last trade I will mention is one in which the Washington Capitals traded top prospect Filip Forsberg to the Nashville Predators in return for veteran Martin Erat and prospect Michael Latta.
The Capitals will live to regret this trade. They don't have a chance at the Cup in the coming years, not with the teams that will be in their division after realignment (e.g. Penguins, Rangers). By the time they do, Erat's contract will be up and they'll be wishing they had held onto Forsberg.
One surprise of the past few days was not a trade, but rather the LACK of one.
Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks have a shaky relationship, with him sharing ice time with Cory Schneider. The Leafs were on the market for a new goalie, and have been this whole season. The teams had talked before about a trade, and talked again the day before the deadline. But there was no movement. Luongo was interviewed after the deadline passed, and said the reason that he was not traded was because "My contract sucks."
He was referencing the fact that his contract has a cap hit of around $5mil a year and goes until the 2022 season. The length and expense of this contract makes it unappealing to interested teams.
With the trade deadline in the past, teams can now look ahead to the playoffs and hope that their newly acquired players will help them in their quest for the Cup.
The next "big" trade made included the Penguins acquiring another team's captain. To be specific, Jerome Iginla, captain of the Calgary Flames. It came as a shock, as everyone in the hockey-world were positive Iginla was headed to the Bruins. But the Pens snagged him, giving the Flames prospects Kenneth Agostino and Ben Hanowski, along with a 1st round pick in the 2013 draft. Again, good for both teams, though the benefits will come to the Flames in the future, not this season as they will for the Pens.
One lesser trade made by the Penguins was for Douglas Murray of the San Jose Sharks. The Pens gave up two conditional 2nd round draft picks (2013 and 2014). One thing that should be observed is that while the Penguins are obviously building up their team to make a push for the Stanley Cup this season, they are taking away many chances to have a good team in the future by trading away many good draft picks and prospects. They are also taking risks economically, seeing that they may want to re-sign players like Iginla, but will not have the money to do so with the salary cap reducing next season.
The Flames also lost another big name besides Iginla by trading defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to the St. Louis Blues. The Flames received prospects Reta Berra and Mark Cundari along with a 1st round pick in the 2013 draft. Yet another sign of the Flames making investments in the future. This helps the Blues out, who can benefit from more depth on the blue line.
And then you have the Buffalo Sabres, who, like the Flames, are rebuilding (in more ways than one, firing their coach back in February). The Sabres started their "yard sale" by first trading Jordon Leopold to the Blues. In return they accepted a 2nd round pick for the 2013 draft, and a conditional 5th round pick.
Next, they traded veteran Robyn Regehr to the LA Kings for two 2nd round picks in '14 and '15.
And then they joined the ranks of suffering teams trading away their captain. Jason Pominville was traded to the Minnesota Wild accompanied by a 4th round pick in the 2014 draft. The Sabres got prospects Matt Hackett (G) and Johan Larsson, along with a 1st round pick in the 2013 draft and a 2nd round pick in the 2014 draft.
Looks like the Sabres are getting set for the future, and the Wild are adding more big names to their team.
The Boston Bruins added a big name, trading for Jaromir Jagr from the Stars. The Stars acquired Lane MacDermid (who already has a goal for them, go him), prospect Cody Payne, and a conditional 2nd round pick.
Bruins also traded a 7th round pick in the 2014 draft to the Blues for defenseman Wade Redden.
Bruins are stacking up for a playoff run, competing with their rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, for first in the Northeast division.
A big trade was made by the San Jose Sharks when Ryane Clowe waived his no-trade clause to be sent to the New York Rangers. The Sharks gained a 2nd and third round pick for 2013 and a conditional 2nd rounder for 2014. The Rangers gained a solid forward who will help them fight back from a so-so season.
The Rangers knew what they were doing when they traded for Clowe, because they then turned around and sent high-scoring forward Marian Gaborik to the Columbus Blue Jackets in return for Derek Dorsett (currently on IR, will not be playing for the remainder of this season), Derick Brassard, and John Moore (the latter two already tallying one goal each for the Rangers). The Rangers also acquired a 6th round pick for the '13 draft.
This was a very good for both sides, with the Rangers gaining depth and the Jackets gaining a big-name player that they have been lacking since Rick Nash left.
The last trade I will mention is one in which the Washington Capitals traded top prospect Filip Forsberg to the Nashville Predators in return for veteran Martin Erat and prospect Michael Latta.
The Capitals will live to regret this trade. They don't have a chance at the Cup in the coming years, not with the teams that will be in their division after realignment (e.g. Penguins, Rangers). By the time they do, Erat's contract will be up and they'll be wishing they had held onto Forsberg.
One surprise of the past few days was not a trade, but rather the LACK of one.
Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks have a shaky relationship, with him sharing ice time with Cory Schneider. The Leafs were on the market for a new goalie, and have been this whole season. The teams had talked before about a trade, and talked again the day before the deadline. But there was no movement. Luongo was interviewed after the deadline passed, and said the reason that he was not traded was because "My contract sucks."
He was referencing the fact that his contract has a cap hit of around $5mil a year and goes until the 2022 season. The length and expense of this contract makes it unappealing to interested teams.
With the trade deadline in the past, teams can now look ahead to the playoffs and hope that their newly acquired players will help them in their quest for the Cup.
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